Galatians

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Faith, Drilling Down

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Looking at the above picture, you are struck by the massive trees next to two small persons walking on a narrow trail bridge. If these two people are believers, they have within them something much greater than  trees.  In the shadow of giant redwoods, dwarfing the two small clay  vessels, God created again with resurrection power, life in these two people.  This is what is meant to be ‘’born again.’’

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:24 our new self is created in the likeness or image of God in true righteousness and holiness.  The word created here conveys the same meaning used in Genesis when God created man and breathed life into Him.  This time, John tells us  in John 1, we are born of God Himself. God’s amazing grace purchased us, so once again, we are His possession.  The first time we were His by creation but this time we are His because He bought us and we gave our heart and life to Him. This time, we are lifted above terrestrial soil  and made citizens in God’s eternal Kingdom. While serving on this clay ball, already sin cursed, these two believers  walk in the light of resurrection power.

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Ethiopian Trip Report

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Our ministry trip was totally different than in October 2015. Diverse as they are, God’s grace is abundant in both. It isn’t geographic differences, our Lord provides according to the needs of His Body.  Our God is working in both ministers as well as the ministry. 

In October we traveled daily out of Addis Ababa.  This May 2016 trip was based in three geographical ministry regions. It was long and physical. But more than that, it was a faith trip through the “redwoods” of Ethiopia. Our Father continues to shape us into the image of His Son through varied communities within His Body. Love reigns! Our loving Lord is preparing His Church for a wedding.  Our trip is one small token step in His Bride’s  preparation of a forth coming eternal event. 

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FAITH, Growing in it!

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Faith is one of the most pivotal elements in the life of God’s people since it determines destiny and qualitative growth in our created existence of grace.  We are  Drilling Down  faith.

When I was a boy, we drove our 1935 two-tone grey Plymouth through a redwood tree. They had a one way road through one of these behemoths in northern California. A few redwoods are still alive today “who” were just beginning life when Jesus was born. It is hard to imagine how massive these ancients become.  I wonder how large we can grow our faith?

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Walk by the Spirit (part 2)

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We took a look at this verse last time as an introduction to faith. It suggests by context both living and walking are different, living does not necessarily equate to walking.  The scriptural record is clear, our faith  links the resurrection power of Jesus to both living and walking.  Faith not only establishes us in righteousness but also provides the power to bring Jesus into our very soul so that we can live and walk in the Spirit. 

The question becomes, why do we want to move mountains and mulberry trees? Faith not only moves mountains, it does much more, it makes us righteousness. The task of making us righteous is greater than moving mountains and this is exactly what we are called to do.  We have been given the power to be righteous by faith. 

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Grasping Love by Faith in Christ Jesus

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Paul has layered steps into the fullness of God from the posture of prayer. We have been looking at each step starting at the bottom, the fullness of God, and moving up, one step at a time, back to the top, leaving a staircase for our understanding into God’s love. Last time we looked at faith. It is our door allowing Christ to “dwell in our  hearts” allowing us to experience the fullness of God.  

Now we want to look more closely to what the apostle Paul means by dwelling in our hearts. The word he uses in the Greek is a compound word meaning House (οικοs) and down against (κατα). It is not uncommon in Greek to combine a preposition into a word in order to convey a nuance or emphasize a meaning. In this instant, the emphases is not just living in a house or dwelling in it but with the κατα formed into the front of the word, Paul emphasizes the full weight of God’s presence is meant to impact our soul-self. He is saying Christ may come against our heart so that we can know the full content of Jesus’ presence within our soul-self. 

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In Christ Jesus - Nov 9

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There are two scriptural modes in which our life in Christ operates. One is grace and the other is faith. Grace is God’s ministry of love to us and faith is our response to his grace. It is God’s power, however, providing context for God’s love through grace and faith. 

We are discussing the amazing gift of righteousness given to every believer in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24). This is Paul’s theme in Romans where he proves we are no longer condemned since we have been made righteous, created into a union with God through Jesus His Son. We also became sanctified but sanctification is totally different and separate from being righteousness in Christ. It is important, however, to view righteousness outside the scope of sanctification because it is!

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Milk to Maturity - 2

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We considered last week two stories of Jesus illustrating the arduous task of moving from milk to maturity in the Christian life.  This week we look at the life of Paul and see how he navigated his life into the port of maturity. 

Paul’s father was a Roman citizen who was also a Pharisee of unmixed Jewish blood. He was born in Tarsus which was the home of the best university in the known world.  He went to school in Tarsus to become a rabbi which dictated he learn a trade, tent making.  After completing his preliminary education, he was sent to Jerusalem and became a student of rabbi Gamaliel who was president of the Sanhedrin.  He spent several years studying the scriptures here before returning to Tarsus.  Barnabas may have been a classmate of Saul.

Paul returned to Jerusalem after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. He was probably a member of the Sanhedrin about two years later when Stephen was martyred because of his strong witness that Jesus was, in fact, the promised Messiah.  Saul (who later became Paul) probably was in charge of Stephen’s martyrdom. Stephen was a Greek speaking Jew who was eloquent and very persuasive causing severe controversy within the Hellenistic synagogues.

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Our Shepherd

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Last week we explored our origins. We saw how the scripture pilots the prologue of our very life into eternity, existing before creation.  The Lamb’s Book of Life already existed and in it names of people like you and I, people who accept by faith God’s provisions for salvation.

God provided through visual creation, the written record of men like Abraham, and His own Son a revelation of who He is and how we participate in what He is doing.  He has also given us a will to choose our own paths.  Lets take one thin slice of Abraham lemon meringue pie and savor the truth the Holy Spirit may provide about His love so that we can make righteous choices.

Abraham’s name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life along side of yours and mine.  God used His story to illustrate truth about our lives. Abraham is prominent in the Biblical account of man’s journey on earth.  The story of Abraham and his son Isaac demonstrates how our eternal God reveals eternal plans in lives who have faith in Him.

Lets review the context of Abraham’s story.  Abraham was Abram when he was born in the region of Ur of the Chaldeans. Ur is located in the valley of the Euphrates River toward the Persian Gulf.  Abram’s father Terah took Abram and his cousin Lot toward Canaan by way of Haran.  Haran was a northern city in the Euphrates River Valley.  They stayed in Haran for an extended time and Terah died there.